This country’s elite athletes and administrators will not be feted or toasted for their outstanding achievements over the past year as the 2020 Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) Annual Awards normally scheduled for early December have been cancelled.
The announcement of the cancellation was made through a letter dated July 6, signed by Erskine Simmons, BOA’s secretary-general and Chairman of the Awards and Special Events Commission, and addressed to all member federations.
Addressed to all presidents and secretaries of member associations and federations, the letter stated: “The Board of Directors of the Barbados Olympic Association Inc. has taken the decision to cancel the 2020 BOA Annual Awards. As you are aware, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year disrupted sport worldwide, including the 2020 Olympic Games, now rescheduled to July 23 to August 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. The pandemic also led to the rescheduling as in some cases, the cancellation of many local, regional and international championships across all sports. Consequently, our athletes and teams did not have the opportunity to compete and it is highly unlikely they will have the opportunity to do so by year-end in many disciplines. This has been the determining factor in cancelling the BOA Annual Awards.
“The Barbados Olympic Association Inc has determined that in the absence of this years’ celebration, we will recognise any outstanding performances for 2020 in 2021. We are therefore requesting that each National Federation record any notable performances your athletes may have achieved in 2020 and submit these performances along with any recorded material to our Awards and Special Events Commission in 2021 for recognition and/or award.”
This is the second major event on the BOA’s 2020 calendar to be cancelled as the Barbados Independence Invitational Games (BiiG) will not take place as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
In a separate letter sent out last month June 19th, the BOA Board of Directors and the BiiG Local Organising Committee led by chairman Cameron Burke said they were forced to make such a difficult decision because of the pandemic.
“The BiiG LOC analysed the results from the recently conducted survey, which was circulated to the national Federations. From the respondents, the majority of our members expressed concern with having the necessary financial support in order to successfully stage their respective events.
“In addition, with the significant sponsorship arrangements under threat and the current uncertainty within our sporting environment, the Executive Committee of the BOA believes that the cancellation will alleviate this added pressure from the national federations and allow for the opportunity to rebuild and prepare for the successful staging of your events in 2021,” the letter said.
The BOA Board of Directors in making their decision said they have taken into consideration concerns raised by national associations and federations and also the fact this virus has forced many athletes out of competition for the remainder of the year.
Each year the Barbados Olympic Association and Barbados Lottery Dinner and Awards Ceremony are held under the patronage of Governor-General Dame Sandra Mason and is organised by the BOA board led by President Sandra Osborne.
The BOA Dinner and Awards held each year at the Needham’s Ballroom of Barbados Hilton Hotel recognises those athletes that have done Barbados proud on the regional and international stage.
Besides the annual National Sports Council Awards, the BOA Awards is the one night that Barbados’ elite athletes get to feel appreciated and recognised for their hard work.
Over the past two years, national 110m hurdles champion Shane Brathwaite captured the BOA Senior Male Athlete of the Year. Brathwaite won big last year when he pocketed BDS$40, 000 for becoming Barbados’ first Pan American Games gold medalist in Lima, Peru.
Senior Female Athlete of the Year was Amber Joseph while Junior Female and Male Athlete of the Year went to squash sensation Meagan Best and Formula Three driver Zane Maloney who also captured the BOA President’s Awards.
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
